Suspect charged with murder in Detroit bridge death

August 22, 1995

From Correspondent Ed Garsten

DETROIT, Mich. (CNN) -- Martell Welch,
19, of Detroit
was arraigned Tuesday afternoon on second-degree murder
charges in connection with the death of Deletha Word, who
jumped into the Detroit River after being attacked and
stripped as a crowd looked on. Some of the onlookers
cheered.

Deletha Word's mother, Dortha, is angry and bitter. "All
those people on the bridge and nobody helps."

But at least two people were concerned enough to jump off the
bridge after Word, attempting to save her life. Lawrence
Walker was one of those people who says he didn't give it a
second thought. "Actually, I didn't even think about it
before I jumped in. I just looked down... and saw that nobody
else was doin' nothing, so I just jumped in."

Bond was set at $250,000. Welch's attorney Wanda Cal entered
a plea of innocent on his behalf. She said she was surprised
her client was charged with second-degree and had expected
the charge to be manslaughter. She said police "overcharged"
her client in an attempt to quell public pressure. Cal also
claims that media coverage put pressure on police to get a
warrant for her client.

Word's father says that the second-degree murder charge is
not serious enough. "Why not? Because he just same as
killed her." But her mother says the real criminals are the
people who cheered as her daughter leapt to her death. "I
don't know what kind of hearts these people have just to stand
there and look. They should be charged with something for
standing there looking."

Welch, a towering young man who weighs about 300 pounds, is a
student at Detroit's Wayne State University and is also an
employee of Mercy Hospital in Detroit.

Police released two other "witnesses" and say they will
continue to gather evidence in the case and say more charges
may come as a result of their investigation.

Word died early Saturday after more than 40 onlookers,
some
cheering, watched as she was pulled from her car by a group
of men who stripped her clothes off and chased her until she
jumped off the Belle Isle Bridge.

The attack followed two minor traffic accidents involving
Word, a slight of build 33 year-old grocery store clerk and
mother of a 13 year-old girl.

Police Comdr. Gerald Stewart said one of the men smashed her
car with a crowbar and pulled her from the vehicle, ripping
off some of her clothes. He then pushed her against the car
and beat her, Stewart said. Word fled and jumped off the
bridge into the Detroit River, police said. Her body was
recovered down river near suburban Wyanodotte late Saturday
morning.

Based on help from some of the witnesses to the incident,
police arrested two 20 year-old men and a 19 year-old on
Sunday, Stewart said.

Although the two older suspects were released, at least one
may still face future charges, Stewart indicated.